Former South Africa player Robin Peterson, in an interview with Anand Vasu has explained how Marco Jansen has become a sought after commodity in South African cricket. Calling Jansen a talent that will serve South Africa for years to come, Peterson has stated that Jansen’s ability to learn new skills sets him apart.
He revealed that in the initial days, Jansen was not comfortable with bowling from around the wicket.
“He wasn’t comfortable bowling around the wickets. In the first game he played with us he went around the wicket in Bloemfontein and took three wickets. We had to explain to him that sometimes the ball is not going to swing back at the stumps. You’ve got to bring in more dismissals from around the wickets if it’s flat. With the angle he was able to bring lbw and bowled into play, and that he was able to execute that in a game quickly was a bonus.”
This addition was evident in the current series against India where Jansen picked 19 wickets at an average under 17.
“It was great to see him do that in the Tests, go around the wickets and try to hit the cracks and bring the ball back into the right-hand batsmen. Those are skills that he has learned over the last 12 months. To take that into a Test match and be successful shows you how quickly he grasps things and puts them into practice,” Peterson added.